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Dr Brunet challenged the demand, because he has a wooden train set that he has used “for a decade” to keep young children busy while consulting with their parents.

He said: “The idea of telling the children that come to see me, that they can’t play with the train, was very sad.”

He believed the nurses were wrongly applying to GP surgeries the very strict cleanliness criteria rightly used in hospitals.

But he said they were failing to see the health benefit of the toys, in terms of being able to better communicate with patients.

“I see parents who are barely able to keep a third of an ear on me, due to their children,” he said.

PCTs have also asked GP surgeries to get rid of soft toys, which have been shown to harbour more germs than hard-surfaced ones.

The CQC yesterday made clear it did not expect GPs to throw out their toys - even cuddly ones.

A spokesman said: “Rumours that practices will have to throw out toys from their waiting rooms have no basis in fact.

“This and other rumours such as carpets and soft furnishings in waiting rooms will have to be removed due to infection issues control are absolutely false.

“These are matters that are not likely to cause the CQC any concern, or lead to non-compliance with the essential standards of quality and safety.

“The Commission is aware that some PCTs have been saying this to practices and would encourage anyone who has encountered this behaviour pass that information on to the CQC who will advise the PCT their advice is wrong.’